Review: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (3DS)

When I first heard of the game Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers I wasn’t sure what to think. I knew it was a classic RPG that many people enjoyed. With me I enjoy the heck out any RPG since I can spend hours having a good time. Maybe at times it’ll be hard but who cares; as long as you’re having fun it’s a good sign. Now let’s fast forward to 2013 in which this game is now being released on the 3DS. You can guess that this game is a port of the classic with more enhanced features than before.

Does Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers have what it takes to come out on top? Will this port do well for being a classic game on a current generation console? Find out in my review of Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers.

If you’ve yet to play this classic and don’t know what may be going on don’t worry. You first start your adventure in the city known as Amami City. At the start you’ll learn that you’re part of a hacker group known as the “Spookies.” The members of this group include Leader, Lunch, yourself, Hitomi, Yuichi and Six. You’ll be learning a lot about each character as you progress. What about the city? The city was at first a small town as most places tend to be. The city was transformed over the years into a high-tech city that offers all citizens free computers, and high-speed connections. Who wouldn’t want to live in a city like that? As you play the game you’ll also learn about the program known as Paradigm X. What is it? Paradigm X is a virtual 3-D city created by the Argon Company and it will let people be in what seems like another world. Honestly, it doesn’t seem different from most video games today that both you and I play. Let’s face it when you play a new video game I know some people sit back and imagine they’re in a new area and they tend to explore and be amazed.

Anyways, how do you take part in Paradigm X testing in-game? You’ll have to win entry via a lottery. How will you get the chance to get access? Play and find out! From then on is when the story will turn and get very interesting. When progressing through the game you’ll find out things are not always what the seem. Is the Argon Company hiding something? What is this COMP your leader found? Why are demons attacking? All good questions.

The moment I started the game I was pleased with how it presented itself. I’ve seen RPGs that simply have you read the text at the bottom of the screen. I had no problem with that in games but do wish some companies spent the time to have a little voice acting to provide emotion in a game. Atlus has made sure to provide that since I wasn’t expecting to have voice acting and text in specific parts of the game. The controls to Soul Hackers are right on and not confusing to use. If you’ve played RPGs on past Nintendo devices you simply need to know that very few buttons will be needed. Up, Down, Left, and Right, A being to select and B to back out. Simple isn’t it? As you can see in the picture above you’ll be seeing a lot of cool things. That right there give the game a good vibe from the start since I do enjoy reading but also enjoy voice acting within a game.

Continuing on from that the gameplay is quite addicting and that’s saying something since I’m a new owner to a 3DS. I’ve played many RPGs in my day and after beating them countless times or even growing out it I didn’t see myself coming back to play it anymore. Things have changed since a game like this has so much to offer, which ranges from an exciting story that has many twists, battles with demons and more. Plus let’s not forget that in the menu there is an extra mode that hopefully unlocks once the game is beat. Now I want you to sit back and think of a RPG now add in demons that you can befriend or even fuse with others to create more powerful creatures on your team. Then picture yourself using said demons to figure out what’s going on and how to save the day. I’ll state now once I realized the demon feature I was hooked. I’ve been a huge fan of games that grant me the choice to collect creates and come out on top. One can’t help but experiment on what is the best demons to have on your team. You’re sure to spend hours playing the story itself and making sure your team is the best. This game isn’t hard one bit and that’s good. I’d rather have a game that makes things a bit easy from a while and then get hard once your characters levels are much higher.

The graphics in-game look really good for being a port of a classic. This ranges from going around Paradigm X, exploring the buildings, fights with demons to the story itself. Just look at the picture below of enemies you’ll meet but who says they can’t join you or even be created at some point. With any port of course you’ll see updates to graphics and I’m pleased and happy with the look it has on the 3DS. The game Soul Hacker is a perfect match for the Nintendo 3DS and wouldn’t have it any other way. As for the musical scores and acting in-game I’ll start with the music. I’ve said many times before that I enjoy video game music. The composer of the music within the game is none other than Sh?ji Meguro who teamed up with Atlus long ago and has been the main composer for the Megami Tensei series. Shoji does a great job with keeping the tracks very simple. It could be that you’re exploring to something happening in the story to even battles with demons or a boss. Shoji makes sure to keep the mood no matter what is happening within Soul Hackers. The voice acting in-game is also good but doesn’t happen all the time. The only times you’ll hear the acting is during the storyline and in shops. I do wish there was a bit more acting whether it was the demons talking or when any text popped up though I had no major problem with this. In the end the acting and music in-game was spot on.

Overall, I’d say Atlus has a hit on their hands! If you enjoy RPG’s and own a 3DS don’t pass up this game. You’ll be sure to be glued to your 3DS for a while. I know I’ve been! Who doesn’t want to save the day, battle demons, and find out what Argon Company may have planned? Soul Hackers provides a solid story, many demons to fight/collect and fuse, nice musical scores throughout game and the graphics looks amazing for being ported to the 3DS. The game includes a StreetpPass feature and being able to use your play coins to unlock more features.You can find Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers via the Nintendo eShop or at your local retailers. For only $39.99 that’s a steal for what this game will provide.

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Avid collector of Funko Pop! items, Pokemon and video games. You may have seen my past work at SFX-360/DigitalNoob. When I'm not collecting great things I'm writing news, previews, reviews and running giveaways.

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